EditBelgium’s Iron Wall: how one PM held up €140 billion for Ukraine
This time, the roadblock was not Viktor Orbán's Hungary, it was Belgium, and Bart De Wever’s stance was the decisive obstacle
In the marble corridors of the Europa Building, where European leaders gathered to project unity, one man delivered a blunt ultimatum that froze a €140 billion lifeline for Ukraine.
Belgian Prime Minister Bart De Wever arrived at the EU summit on Thursday (23 October) with a simple message: Not on my watch. His target: a bold plan to transform €260 billion in frozen Russian central bank assets – mostly parked in Belgium’s Euroclear depository – into a massive “reparation loan” for Kyiv. The scheme, championed by the European Commission and backed by a majority of EU governments, was meant to fund Ukraine’s war effort for years.
Instead, it hit a Belgian brick wall.
“If demands are not met,” De Wever warned reporters on the red carpet outside the summit, “I will do everything in my power – at the European level, nationally, politically, and legally – to stop this decision.”
It was not a bluff.
By nightfall, the summit’s final declaration had been gutted. Gone was the expected green light for the loan. In its place: a vague request to the Commission to “present options” by December. The delay was not due to Hungary’s predictable obstruction – Viktor Orbán remained isolated. This time, the roadblock was Belgium, and De Wever’s stance was the decisive obstacle.
Why Belgium matters
The math is brutal: Euroclear, headquartered in Brussels, holds over 70% of the €260 billion in Russian assets frozen after Moscow’s 2022 invasion. That makes Belgium the de facto gatekeeper of the EU’s most potent financial weapon against the Kremlin.
De Wever’s objections were threefold, each delivered with the precision of a legal brief.
He demanded ironclad proof that seizing profits from frozen assets (or using them as collateral) would survive Russian lawsuits in international courts. “The legality is not clear,” he repeated, a refrain that echoed through closed-door talks.
If Russia wins in court and demands compensation, Belgium refuses to foot the bill alone. “All member states must contribute,” he insisted, pointing to assets frozen in the U.S., UK, and Japan that are currently outside the EU plan.
The loan would be backed by future profits from the frozen assets. But what if those profits dry up? De Wever wants a binding EU mechanism to cover any shortfall- essentially, a collective insurance policy.
“The biggest problem,” he told journalists after the summit, “is guaranteeing the money can be paid back if something goes wrong.”
Zelenskyy’s plea falls flat
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, invited as a special guest, made his case directly to the leaders. Standing before the circular table, he warned that delay was not neutrality – it was complicity.
“Anyone who delays the decision on the full use of frozen Russian assets is not only limiting our defence, but also slowing down the EU’s own progress,” he said, voice steady but urgent.
He laid out a shopping list: air defence batteries, F-16 munitions, drone fleets, and winter fortifications. A chunk of the loan, he promised, would buy European-made weapons, turning EU solidarity into jobs back home.
But De Wever did not budge. Sources inside the room described him as calm, lawyerly, and immovable, citing Belgian constitutional constraints and the risk of Euroclear being sued into oblivion.
A declaration of intent – but no action
The final text, endorsed by 26 leaders, was a masterpiece of diplomatic fudge:
“Russia’s assets should remain immobilised until Russia ceases its war of aggression against Ukraine and compensates it for the damage caused.”
Strong words. But the operative paragraph – the one that would have tasked the Commission with drafting the loan legislation – was replaced with a tepid line: “[We invite] the Commission to present options for financial support based on an assessment of Ukraine’s financing needs.”
Translation: kick the can to December.
European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen called the issue “very complex” but insisted progress was possible. Council President António Costa, chairing his first summit, struck a note of optimism: “It is possible to solve all the technical issues. This solution is feasible.”
Behind the scenes, however, frustration simmered. One Eastern European diplomat called Belgium’s position “legal perfectionism at the expense of lives.” A senior Commission official admitted: “We thought we had this locked. Belgium blindsided us.”
Russia watches – and warns
Moscow, predictably, pounced. The Kremlin labelled the loan plan “theft” and threatened to seize Western assets in retaliation—though most foreign firms have already fled. Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov warned that any move would “cross a red line.”
For Ukraine, the stakes are existential. Winter is coming. Russian drones and missiles pound cities nightly. The €140 billion loan—structured as a 25-year facility at low interest—could have funded two years of full-scale defence, from artillery shells to power grid repairs.
Instead, Kyiv must wait. And hope that Belgium blinks.
What happens next?
De Wever left Brussels with a promise – and a threat. If the Commission returns in December with water-tight legal opinions, shared risk, and global burden-sharing, he says he’ll support the plan. If not, he’ll veto it outright, forcing the EU to find another way.
Some leaders are already exploring Plan B: a smaller loan using only the profits from frozen assets (around €3–5 billion annually), which Belgium finds less objectionable. But that’s a fraction of what Ukraine needs.
As the summit dispersed, one image lingered: Zelenskyy, flanked by von der Leyen and Costa, smiling tightly for the cameras – while across the room, De Wever gathered his briefcase, unshaken.
With Reuters, edited by g.g.
Caption: Belgian Prime Minister Bart de Wever (C-L) reacts as he talks to other EU leaders before the start of the Euro Summit in Brussels, Belgium, 23 October 2025. EU leaders convened in Brussels to discuss the situation Ukraine, European defence, developments in the Middle East, competitiveness, housing and migration. EPA/OLIVIER HOSLET
Updated: October 24, 2025 - 06:02
